1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to eyeglasses (or “glasses”) and frames therefor, and, more particularly, to eyeglasses and eyeglass frames that collapse to a convenient size with very little effort. The present invention also relates to frames for glasses including temple rests (i.e., sides) that gently rest on temples of a user instead of over the user's ears.
2. Description of the Related Art
Eyeglasses include frames bearing lenses worn in front of the eyes. They are normally used for vision correction and/or eye protection. Eyeglasses also include safety glasses which are worn to protect the eye against flying debris, chemicals or against visible and near visible light or radiation. Sunglasses are another type of eyeglasses that allow better vision in bright daylight, and may protect against damage from high levels of ultraviolet light such as Ultraviolet A (UVA) and Ultraviolet B (UVB) light.
Configurations of glasses have remained substantially the same for the past 200 years. For example, bifocals which were invented and worn by Benjamin Franklin over 200 years ago have a strikingly similar configuration to that of typical glasses worn today. Conventional configurations of glasses may have various problems associated with them. One such problem is that conventional glasses may be uncomfortable and may irritate a wearer's ears by placing pressure thereon. Another problem is that typical glasses may not remain very stable with respect to the wearer's face and may shift around. Another age old problem associated with conventional configurations of glasses is easy misplacement or loss of the glasses. Yet another problem is that conventional glasses take up an inordinate amount of space when not being worn, and require a sufficiently large storage case when stored.